





THE QUALIFICATIONS and 
PREPARATION of MEDICAL 
MISSIONARIES and NURSES 


BOARD OF MISSIONARY PREPARATION 
25 Madison Avenue, New York 


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BOARD OF MISSIONARY PREPARATION 


Professor Frederick L. Anderson, D.D. 
Reverend James L. Barton, D.D. 
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David Bovaird, M.D. 

Professor O. E. Brown, D.D. 
Professor Ernest DeWitt Burton, D.D. 
Miss Helen B. Calder 

Professor Edward W. Capen, Ph.D. 
Professor W. O. Carver, D.D. 
Reverend Wm. I. Chamberlain, Ph.D. 
Reverend George Drach 

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Professor Daniel J. Fleming, Ph.D. 
Dean H. E. W. Fosbroke, D.D. 

Miss Margaret E. Hodge 

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Right Reverend Arthur S. Lloyd, D.D. 
Reverend R. P. Mackay, D.D. 
President W. Douglas Mackenzie, D.D. 
Professor Paul Monroe, Ph.D. 

John R. Mott, LL.D. 

Reverend Frank Mason North, D.D. 
Principal T. R. O’Meara, D.D. 
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Professor Henry B. Robins, Ph.D. 
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Robert E. Speer, D.D. 

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President W. Douglas Mackenzie, D.D., Chairman 
Fennell P. Turner, Secretary 
Reverend Wm. I. Chamberlain, Ph.D., Treasurer 
Reverend Frank K. Sanders, Ph.D., Director 
25 Madison Avenue, New York 


The QUALIFICATIONS aud PREPARATION 
of MEDICAL MISSIONARIES aud NURSES 


THE REPORT OF A COMMITTEE APPOINTED BY 
THE BOARD OF MISSIONARY PREPARATION 


Rev. Frep P. Haccarp, D.D., Chairman 
Rev. JAMEs L. Barton, D.D. 

Rev. CHARLES R. Watson, D.D. 
PROFESSOR Haran P. Beacu, M.A., D.D., F. R. G. S. 
Miss HELEN B. CALDER 

C. O. F. Stumpr, M.D. 

Joun C. Berry, M.D. 

Joun M. T. Finney, M.D. 

W. W. KEEN, Ph.D., Sc.D., M.D., LL.D. 
ELLEN C. Potter, M.D. 

J. G. Mumrorp, M.D., F. A. C. S. 
Horace D. ARNOLD, M.D. 

RICHARD P. STRONG, Ph.D., M.D. 
WiLi1AM J. WANLEssS, M.D. 

WiLu1AM H. Jerrerys, M.D. 

Pau, W. Harrison, M.D. 

RutH Hume, M.D. 

Epwarp H. Hume, M.D. 


PRESENTED AT THE THIRD ANNUAL MEETING IN KANSAS CITY, 
MO., JANUARY, 1914, PUBLISHED IN THE THIRD ANNUAL 
VOLUME OF THE PUBLICATIONS OF THE BOARD. 


REPRINTED MARCH 19, 1918. 


Board of Missionary Preparation 
25 Madison Ave., New York City 





THE QUALIFICATIONS AND PREPARATION OF 
MEDICAL MISSIONARIES AND NURSES 


In their study of the material from which this report has 
developed, the committee have had in mind prospective can- 
didates for appointment as medical missionaries, and secre- 
taries and members of mission Boards to whom these candi- 
dates may ultimately make their applications. 

Effort has been made (1) to ascertain what the requisites 
for effective medical service are from the point of view of 
the mission field; (2) to outline a definite course of pro- 
cedure for those who propose to enter this service, and (3) 
to state the whole case in such a way as to help mission 
Boards to apply, with practical unanimity, the principles 
found to represent the consensus of opinion of those quali- 
fied to speak on the subject. 

The bases of the report were the following: 


Report of Commission V of the Edinburgh Conference on the Preparation 
of Missionaries. 

Reports of the Council on Medical Education of the American Medical 
Association. 

Report on Medical Education in the United States and Canada by the Car- 
negie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Bulletin Number Four, 1910. 

Report of the Continuation Committee Conferences in Asia, 1912-1913. 

Recommendations of the Medical Missionary Association of China. 

Replies to a questionnaire (see pp. 103-105, Third Report, Board of Mis- 
sionary Preparation) sent to about one hundred and fifty representatives of the 
following classes: 

Medical missionaries in active service. 

Medical missionaries on furlough or retired. 

General missionaries specially interested in medical missionary work. 

Medical practitioners at home. 

Professors in medical colleges. 

Secretaries of mission Boards. 


The report has been cast in a form that will permit its 
publication as a pamphlet for use by mission Boards in cor- 
respondence with medical missionary candidates and as a 

3 


a PREPARATION OF MEDICAL MISSIONARIES 


guide to such candidates in preparation for their work. It 
was felt that what was needed was not an elaborate treatise 
or discussion but a brief compendium of facts, principles, 
and suggestions that would form a sort of hand-book for the 
guidance of those interested in medical missions. 


I. THe RELATIVE PosITION oF MEDICAL MISSIONARY 
WorK 


Perhaps no better statement regarding this can be given 
than that contained in the recommendations of the Medical 
Missionary Association of China adopted in its Triennial 
Meeting at Peking, January 13-17, 1913. This, with other 
recommendations, was presented to the Continuation Com- 
mittee of the Edinburgh Conference through Dr. Mott, on 
the occasion of the recent China National Conference held 
under the auspices of the Continuation Committee: 

“Medical Missions are not to be regarded as a temporary expedient for open- 
ing the way for and extending the influence of the Gospel, but as an integral, 


co-ordinate and permanent part of the missionary work of the Christian Church, 
as was emphasized in the resolutions passed by the Shanghai Conference of 1907.” 


Il. Tue Atm or MepicaL Misstonary WorkK 


The aim of medical missions is to assist in the develop- 
ment of the Kingdom of Heaven on earth through the prac- 
tice of the gospel of healing, an agency endorsed by Jesus 
himself. As the Medical Association of China has expressed 
it, the purpose is “to bring the blessings of healing to the 
souls and the bodies of the people.” The triple command is 
to “preach, teach, heal.” Of the six items mentioned by 
Jesus in his reply to the messengers of John, five have refer- 
ence to healing. Medical missions constitute an important 
part of the social service which the Church is now beginning 
to perceive is her culminating task in the world’s redemp- 
tion. 


PREPARATION OF MEDICAL MISSIONARIES 5 


III. Wuo SHouLp ENGAGE IN MEpICcCAL MISSIONARY 
Work? 


Only those should undertake this work who are fully 
qualified for it. Others might render effective service, but 
mission Boards today cannot wisely appoint those who are 
not prepared according to the very highest standards of the 
medical profession. But the medical missionary must also 
be a Christian man and imbued with the missionary spirit. 
It is not deemed necessary that he should have a theological 
training or be as fully prepared for evangelistic work as the 
ordinary missionary. But he should be so much in sympa- 
thy with the evangelistic work as fully to appreciate its im- 
portance, to hold his own work in proper relation to such 
effort, and to perform consistently his part in helping to 
realize the object of all missionary endeavor. It would be a 
mistake to appoint as a medical missionary a doctor who is 
not prepared in the spirit of Christ to devote himself to the 
work of his fellow men. It would be an equally great mis- 
take to appoint those with a strong missionary spirit but 
without the professional qualifications. “I should prefer a 
combination of the first-class physician and a moderate 
evangelist to a good evangelist and a poor physician.” In 
other words, a medical missionary must be fully qualified to 
practice his profession, and also have a warm Christian 
heart and the ability to make his work as physician an effec- 
tive exposition of the Gospel. 

While the roster of medical missionaries will reveal the 
names of men with inferior academic and medical training 
who have become highly successful missionaries and phy- 
sicians, the almost unanimous opinion of medical mission- 
aries themselves is that in the future only men and women 
of refined tastes, of well-bred manners, of broad culture, of 
good minds and with the best possible equipment should 
undertake the life of a medical missionary. 


6 PREPARATION OF MEDICAL MISSIONARIES 


IV. PREPARATION CONSIDERED NECESSARY FOR MEDICAL 
MISSIONARY CANDIDATES BEFORE THEY ENTER 
MEDICAL COLLEGE 


Every medical school has its own entrance requirements. 
The American Medical Association, through its Council on 
Medical Education, is seeking to harmonize these require- 
ments and at the same time to raise the general standard. 
The minimum pre-medical preparation suggested by the 
Council is: “At least a four year high school education, and 
in addition at least one year of college work, including at 
least eight semester hours each of physics, chemistry, bi- 
ology, and German or French.” This suggested require- 
ment for admission will be found elaborated in a pamphlet 
entitled “Standards of the Council on Medical Education of 
the American Medical Association.” * Virtually all who re- 
sponded to the questionnaire of the Committee favored an 
even higher standard than that outlined in the foregoing, 
the majority advocating a full college course before the 
medical school is entered. There is a strong tendency among 
medical schools to adopt the full college standard for the 
matriculates, although it is considered important that phy- 
sicians should not prolong their period of preparation to 
such a degree as to cause them to begin their active practice 
too late in life. If choice must be made, a fifth “hospital 
year” would be preferable to the last two years in college. 
The Report of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advance- 
ment of Teaching urges two years of college as the minimum 
requirement. The volunteer for medical missionary service 
should realize the need for better preparation than if he were 
planning to remain at home. Only a full college course can 
give him the foundation necessary for his future studies and 
work. 





1 Address The Secretary, 535 North Dearborn Street, Chicago, Illinois. 


PREPARATION OF MEDICAL MISSIONARIES 7 


A large proportion of the responses emphasized the im- 
portance of giving special attention to Latin, German and 
French during the academic course, both from the point of 
view of the requirements of the medical course to be under- 
taken and the study of the language of the mission field to 
which the missionary may be assigned. The study of pho- 
netics also is advocated as a great aid to the ready acquire- 
ment of languages. To this may be added a course in peda- 
gogy. (See XI.) The Medical Missionary Association of 
China, at their meeting in February, 1913, adopted the 
following regarding the importance of the work of trans- 
lation, for which, naturally, special adaptation and prepara- 
tion would be required: 

“As medical books in Chinese are necessary in order to carry on the instruc- 
tion in our colleges and to provide medical literature for graduates, the associa- 
tion would urge on the Missionary Societies the need for arranging that suitable 


men should devote a large part of their time to the work of translating and 
preparing such books.” 


For special suggestions regarding the preparation of med- 
ical missionaries for other phases of the work, see XI. 

Fear has been expressed by some that the establishment 
of too high a standard of education may deter many from 
undertaking so arduous a task as is necessarily involved in 
securing full medical training. To a certain extent this 
may be true. Immediate needs for men may not be so easily 
supplied by the Boards, but it is believed that in the end it 
will be found that greater progress has been made and a 
larger supply of candidates furnished through adherence 
to a standard that undoubtedly will attract some who now 
hesitate to accept appointment to an inferior grade of serv- 
ice, where standards are low and equipment is meagre. The 
aim should be to lift and maintain at a high level the re- 
quirements for medical missionary service. 

Dr. Henry S. Pritchett, in his introduction to the Report 
of the Carnegie Foundation, 1910, says: 


8 PREPARATION OF MEDICAL MISSIONARIES 


“No members of the social order are more self-sacrificing than the true 
physicians and surgeons, and of this fine group none deserve so much of society 
as those who have taken upon their shoulders the burden of medical education. 
On the other hand, the profession has been diluted by the presence of a great 
number of men who have come from weak schools, with low ideals both of 
education and of professional honor. If the medical education of our country 
is in the immediate future to go upon a plane of efficiency and of credit, those 
who represent the higher ideals of the medical profession must make a stand 
for that form of medical education which is calculated to advance the true 
interests of the whole people and to better the ideals of medicine itself.” 


Dr. Abraham Flexner, who wrote the report of the Foun- 
dation, makes this significant comment regarding the rela- 
tive cost to society (in the case of missionary doctors, the 
Church) of well-educated physicians and of those that are 
poorly equipped: 


“The proper method of calculating cost is, however, social. Society defrays 
the expense of training and maintaining the medical corps. In the long run, 
which imposes the greater burden on the community—the training of a needlessly 
vast body of inferior men, a large proportion of whom break down, or that of a 
smaller body of competent men who actually achieve their purpose? When to 
the direct waste here in question there is added the indirect loss due to incom- 
petency, it is clear that the more expensive type is decidedly the cheaper. Aside 
from interest on investment, from loss by withdrawal of the student body from 
productive occupations, the cost of our present system of medical education is 
annually about $3,000,000, as paid in tuition for fees alone. The number of high- 
grade physicians really required could be educated for much less; the others 
would be profitably employed elsewhere; and society would be still further en- 
riched by efficient medical service.” 


The fact should not be overlooked that on the mission field 
the medical missionary will have to depend far more upon 
his own resources than at home. He will not be able to call 
in specialists in particular diseases, or experts to perform 
exceptional operations. He must be a master himself, capa- 
ble of doing anything that may be required of him. Failure 
or weakness means much more there than it would here. 
Confidence not simply in himself but in the profession and 
the missionary cause will be weakened by the results of the 
lack of knowledge or professional skill, As already indi- 


a 


a - 
PREPARATION OF MEDICAL MISSIONARIES 9 


cated, the medical missionary will need an even higher de- 
gree of preparation for foreign work than for work at home. 


V. CuHoIcE oF A MEpDICAL SCHOOL 


Obviously the mission Boards are not in a position to de- 
termine what schools are standard. They can do no less, 
however, than accept the judgment of such a body as the 
American Medical Association and appoint missionaries only 
from those schools that maintain an agreed standard. The 
Council on Medical Education has classified the medical 
schools of America as follows: 


Class A Plus—Acceptable Medical Colleges. 

Class A—Colleges lacking in certain respects, but otherwise acceptable. 

Class B—Colleges needing general improvement to be made acceptable. 

Class C—Colleges requiring a complete reorganization to make them ac- 
ceptable. 


Men and women proposing to invest their lives on the 
mission field cannot afford to jeopardize their work because 
of imperfect training in an inferior school. Candidates 
should consult with their respective Boards before selecting 
a school in which to conduct their studies. It is definitely 
recommended that only graduates from Class A Plus and 
Class A schools or those from the corresponding classes in- 
dicated in the report of the Carnegie Foundation should be 
appointed medical missionaries. 


VI. THe MepicaLt CouRSsE 


There is practically unanimous testimony on the part of 
those consulted that no one should be appointed to medical 
missionary service who has not had at least four years of 
professional training. A majority favor a course of five 
years. In regard to this point, also, a few fear that with so 
high a standard the needs of the field will not be adequately 


10 PREPARATION OF MEDICAL MISSIONARIES 


met. This may be true so far as mere numbers are con- 
cerned, but the ultimate results of the adoption of the higher 
standard must be better than would be possible under the 
lower. All agree, also, that the regular course should be 
followed throughout without deviation for special studies 
that might seem better to fit candidates for their work. To 
the regular medical course certain additions may profitably 
be made. (See VII.) 

In this connection reference may appropriately be made 
to the question of some medical training for non-medical 
missionaries. It may be assumed that everyone applying for 
missionary appointment will at least have acquired what is 
now generally taught in the public schools regarding physi- 
ology, hygiene and first aid to the injured. In addition to 
all this the non-medical missionary, especially if he has apti- 
tude for it, may very profitably do some reading along medi- 
cal lines, preferably under the guidance of a physician 
friend. Better still, he might take a brief special course of 
lectures and training in subjects relating to the care of health 
and the treatment of minor ailments and injuries. Such a 
course of preparation will be found especially helpful to mis- 
sionaries who are to be located in frontier stations and in 
sections such as are to be found in Africa, where physicians 
and hospitals are either very few in number and widely scat- 
tered or lacking altogether. It should be clearly understood 
that these suggestions are not offered to encourage prospec- 
tive medical missionaries to substitute a short-cut prepara- 
tion for full medical training, but to call the attention of 
others to the desirability of having this additional equip- 
ment. Candidates for appointment to other than medical 
work will do well to take up this question in correspondence 
with their respective mission Boards. 


PREPARATION OF MEDICAL MISSIONARIES 11 


- 


VII. Suspyects To Wuicu SpeciAL ATTENTION May 
PROFITABLY BE GIVEN 


Mission fields differ greatly in their conditions and the 
demands they impose upon those who serve in them. Defi- 
nite consideration should be given to special equipment 
which may be needed in particular cases. Information re- 
garding this can be obtained through the mission Boards. 
The following list of subjects will serve as a general guide. 
The items are arranged in the order that expresses the aver- 
age judgment of medical workers: 


Class A. 
1. Surgery. 
2. Tropical diseases. 
3. Obstetrics. 
4. Diseases of women and children. 
5. Stomach and bowels. 
6. Respiratory organs. 
7. Skin. 
8. Eye. 
9. Ear, throat, nose. 
Note—Nos. 3 and 4 are especially urged for women physicians. 


To the above is added a supplementary list in which some 
items are comparatively new, as details in a missionary’s 
equipment. They are, however, rapidly increasing in im- 
portance. 


Class B. 

. Microscopy and bacteriology. 
. Preventive medicine. 

. Hygiene. 

. Sanitation. 

. Pharmacy. 

. Dentistry. 

. Orthopedics. 

Caution.—The foregoing list and others which follow contain many items to 
answer the questions of many people. Obviously no one can specialize in all 
subjects. With this broad outline of desirable equipment and possible needs one 
can better map out a course of preparation than if an average or minimum list 
were suggested. Good advice would be: Choose those subjects which seem to 
be essential and prepare in them as fully as possible; secure such additional 
equipment as previous training, tastes, and opportunity may indicate. 


NA Oh WD 


te PREPARATION OF MEDICAL MISSIONARIES 


There is unanimous conviction that every medical mission- 
ary candidate should, after graduation from medical school, 
act for at least one year (two are preferred by many) as an 
interne in some good hospital. A general hospital is better 
for both men and women condidates. 


VIII. Wuen SHOULD SPECIAL ATTENTION BE GIVEN 
TO THE SUBJECTS MENTIONED IN CLASSES A 
AND BIN SECTION VII? 


It may be difficult in most cases for the student to do spe- 
cial work in any department during his medical course; still, 
if his decision be made before he enter the course he can 
doubtless, with the suggested schedule before him, favor to 
some extent the subjects mentioned. In a majority of cases 
extra time will have to be given to these branches after com- 
pletion of the regular course. 

There is difference of opinion among those consulted as 
to when and under what circumstances this postgraduate 
specialization shall be undertaken. Some claim that during 
the two years of interneship all that is necessary can be ac- 
quired. Others believe that in certain branches, particularly 
tropical diseases, a definite postgraduate course should be 
attended. Still others hold that the best plan is to postpone 
all graduate work, exclusive of a year or two of interneship, 
until the first furlough period, when the missionary will be 
able to judge from his own experience what he most needs. 
Advice on this point should be sought by the new worker 
from those already on the field and from the Board at home. 


IX. LicENsE To Practice MEDICINE 


Every appointment to medical missionary service should 
be conditioned upon the passage of an examination by an 
examining board of some State or other authority. This is 
important both in the interests of the missionary’s standing 


PREPARATION OF MEDICAL MISSIONARIES 13 


and as a protection to him in case he should be compelled to 
relinquish his work abroad and take up permanent practice 
in the homeland. 


X. BEGINNING WorK ON THE FIELD 


Under this head three questions have been asked: 

(1) Shall additional study be undertaken in hospitals on 
the field before medical missionaries take up their regular 
work? The opinion is expressed that this is neither neces- 
sary nor practicable. 

(2) Should the physician newly arrived on the foreign 
field spend some time under the direction of an experienced 
medical missionary before being put in charge of a hospital 
or assigned to the care of the medical work of a station? 
The majority seem to favor such a plan where practicable, 
but a lack of workers has rendered it impossible in most 
cases to follow the course indicated. 

(3) Should medical missionaries have equal opportunity 
with other missionaries for the study of the language? The 
answer to this question is obvious. All agree as to the very 
great importance, not only of affording opportunity for such 
study, but, in view of the peculiar temptation he will undergo 
to devote his whole time to the practice of his profession, 
that special provision should be made to insure to him this 
opportunity for language study. Until the language is 
learned its pursuit should be considered the first and most 
important duty. While engaged in this study the new re- 
cruit may practice his profession with moderation and ren- 
der such other assistance in the station as his time and 
strength will permit. 

It will be unnecessary for all physicians to go deeply into 
that literary study of the language that is expected of the 
ordained man, the educationalist, and the translator. On 
the other hand, the language study required of the medical 


14 PREPARATION OF MEDICAL MISSIONARIES 


worker should deal in a thoroughly satisfactory way with 
technical language connected with the profession, and should 
also secure fluency for ordinary conversation and finish for 
social relationships. Mission Boards or their language com- 
mittees on the mission fields should provide special courses 
of language study for physicians. 


XI. PREPARATION IN OTHER DEPARTMENTS THAN 
MEDICINE 


The extent to which prospective medical missionaries shall 
prepare in other departments than medicine depends to a 
large degree on the answer to the question as to how much 
will or should be required of them in other forms of service. 
Wide difference of opinion prevails as to the medical mis- 
sionary’s relations to these departments and the amount of 
time, if any, he should give to them. These opinions vary 
from ‘Give attention to all in a general way” to “No time 
for any.” The enthusiast in behalf of medical missions, be- 
lieving in the co-ordinate character of the ministry of heal- 
ing, feels that if the medical practitioner performs his pro- 
fessional work well he has done all that could reasonably be 
expected of him. The evangelistic missionary, on the other 
hand, is inclined to believe that the mere practice of medicine 
is not and cannot be made sufficiently missionary in charac- 
ter to warrant the relief of a doctor from a definite share in 
other forms of activity. 

The fact is, there is no conflict here. Several fundamental 
principles should be laid down. (1) Only those should en- 
gage in missionary work, whether evangelistic, educational, 
or medical, who are called to be missionaries (see III). (2) 
Everything done in any department of the work should be 
definitely missionary in character, the expression of a mis- 
sionary purpose. (3) Economy and efficiency require that 
the major part of a missionary’s time and strength should 


PREPARATION OF MEDICAL MISSIONARIES 15 


be devoted to that phase of the work for which he is best 
suited and for which he has made special preparation. If a 
missionary in one department is compelled to have oversight 
of other departments, it may follow that his principal task 
will be neglected; but a reasonable participation in the work 
of other departments will not only be to the advantage of 
these other departments, but help him personally as well. 
Such participation will keep him from developing a narrow 
or unsympathetic attitude. Furthermore, one may have the 
experience and ability to make a substantial contribution, in 
the way of counsel at least, regarding work in which he does 
not profess to be an expert. This would apply with equal 
force to missionaries in other departments as to their atti- 
tude toward medical work and workers. (4) The spirit of 
Christian fellowship and helpfulness, the importance of co- 
operative action, the need for unity in making plans and in 
the administration of the work alike demand the recognition 
of mutual relationships and responsibilities. 

The four departments of work to which additional prep- 
aration will enable him to contribute are: (1) Evangelistic; 
(2) Educational; (3) General oversight of churches, schools, 
etc.; (4) Miscellaneous station work and problems. He will 
certainly give special attention to the health of the other 
members of the station force, and will naturally find a place 
on the building and other committees for the oversight of 
practical affairs. The branches in which this preparation 
may be secured are as follows: (See Caution on page 11.) 


(1) The Bible, that he may be able to teach it. 
(2) Practical Christian work, that he may most tactfully lead men and 
women into a new spiritual life. 


Too much emphasis cannot be placed on the importance 
of the two subjects just noted. As to the Bible, the mission- 
ary should have a first-hand acquaintance with it as a source 
of power; an up-to-date knowledge of Bible interpretation 


16 PREPARATION OF MEDICAL MISSIONARIES 


that will keep him from narrow or too literal views; a broad 
knowledge of its relations to modern thought that will help 
in bringing it to bear on the characteristic problems of the 
present day; an ability to teach the Bible effectively, which 
is not necessarily involved in the most thorough scholarship 
and which can be developed only through practice. 

Referring to practical Christian work the physician may 
do very little if any preaching; he may not engage in teach- 
ing, but his chief justification for being a missionary is that 
he is a representative of Jesus Christ. He cannot properly 
represent Him unless he knows Him and he cannot know 
Him without some knowledge of His word. It is not pri- 
marily a question of engaging in the more formal work of 
evangelization; it is a question of being, of living. It is not 
a question of knowing Christ in order to do something to 
some one, but of knowing Christ so that Christ is in the mis- 
sionary, a vital, living force of his being. 

With reference to this important matter, Dr. W. J. Wan- 
less of India said this at the Edinburgh Conference: 

“As to their spiritual training, it is desirable that every medical missionary 
should know Christianity, but it is very much more important that he should 
know Jesus Christ, that he should have had vital dealings with Jesus in his own 
life as his own personal Saviour, that he should have had some personal experi- 
ence of leading others to a knowledge of Jesus Christ. Every medical missionary 
should be prepared to take charge of the evangelistic work of his own hospital. 
It is not necessary that he should do it all, but he should be the one who is most 
interested in it. He is the one who should plan it, and he is the one who should 
take a very large part in it at all events.” 

(3) Psychology, that he may properly judge human nature and be able 
better to get on with his associates. 

(4) Sociology, that he may better appreciate and more readily help solve 
the social problems of the people. 

(5) Pedagogy, that he may most helpfully instruct his assistants and, if 
necessary, teach in a medical school. 

(6) History of Religions and Comparative Religions, that he may better 
understand the nature of the missionary’s task. 


(7) Church History, that he may know how best to help direct the organ- 
ized life of the churches. 


Dr. W. H. Jefferys of China, one of the most successful 


PREPARATION OF MEDICAL MISSIONARIES 7, 


medical missionaries, who is in charge of one of the largest 
hospitals, mentions three forms of repeated failures in medi- 
cal missionaries: “(a) They are not good doctors. (b) 
They are poor getters-on with their fellows and the natives. 
Given a good, sensible man, a knowledge of psychology will 
do the rest. (c) They are trying to stand for something 
they are supposed to have but do not possess—vital faith in 
the incomparable Jesus, a life in Him, a devotion to Him.” 

The following additional subjects have been suggested: 

(1) Sanitary engineering. 

(2) Hospital construction. 

(3) Hospital management (administrative work). 

(4) Bookkeeping. 

(5) Photography. 

(6) Public speaking. 

(7) Information or training in any mechanical pursuit. 

(8) Domestic Science (for nurses). 


One correspondent urges that “we must be careful not to 
make the candidate study so many things for so long a time 
that he may die before he reaches the field.” If the only 
choice were between poorly equipped missionaries and the 
non-evangelization of the world there would be occasion for 
pause in urging broad preparation, but such is not the case. 
Undoubtedly enough men and women can be induced to 
enter the work on the higher basis, and hence with more 
power to accomplish results, to more than offset any loss in 
mere numbers of workers. The true student, the candidate 
who has put his hand to the plow, will not be deterred by 
an array of possible or desirable additions to his equipment, 
but will resolutely set himself to the task of acquiring as 
many of these as his circumstances will permit. He will 
wisely seek counsel from the officers of some mission Board 
and lay out a course of action that for him will be best. 
Arbitrary rules to cover all cases cannot be laid down. (Note 
Caution on page 11.) 

Obviously some of the courses suggested are more impor- 


18 PREPARATION OF MEDICAL MISSIONARIES 


tant than others. Sufficient knowledge of some of them will 
already have been acquired through specialization during the 
college course. A definite line of private reading would fur- 
nish all that would be desired in other cases. Since the 
majority of volunteers come from Christian homes or have 
had opportunity for Bible study and Christian work in their 
churches, colleges, Christian Associations or elsewhere, a 
foundation will have been laid for future Bible study and 
evangelistic effort. While, however, much knowledge of 
these and other subjects can be gained in connection with 
the pursuit of principal courses, definite plans, regular 
courses, and a fixed goal are to be preferred in each case. 

A theological course is not necessary for the medical mis- 
sionary, but a year or two spent in a missionary or Bible 
training school is very desirable; otherwise well planned 
courses in the subjects mentioned should be followed in con- 
junction with the medical studies. The fact is of course 
appreciated that a medical student could profitably give his 
entire time to his medical course; but it must be continually 
remembered that he is to be more than a physician—he is 
to be a missionary and hence his preparation should include 
more than medicine. 

The demand for the establishment of medical schools on 
the mission fields for the training of doctors and nurses 
emphasizes the importance of teaching as a function of 
the medical missionary. The China Medical Association ex- 
pressed themselves as follows on this point: 


“(1) That in establishing medical colleges and hospitals our sole object is 
to bring the blessings of healing to the souls and bodies of the people of China, 
and to give a thorough training in medicine and surgery to young men and 
women of education and intelligence, enabling them, as fully qualified doctors, 
to be of the highest service to their country. 

“(2) That we have no desire to create permanently foreign institutions, and 
that our aim and hope is that these medical colleges will gradually and ultimately 
be staffed, financed and controlled by the Chinese themselves. 

“(3) That we are desirous of bringing our teaching work into line with 
the regulations of the Ministry of Education, and in all ways to co-operate with 


PREPARATION OF MEDICAL MISSIONARIES 19 


and assist the government of the republic in medical education, so that a strong 
and thoroughly equipped medical profession may be established in this great 
land.” 

It is desirable, therefore, that candidates should give some 
consideration to their qualifications for teaching, not only 
keeping this in mind during the pursuit of their medical 
studies but also taking such training for teaching as may be 
found practicable. While not all will become professional 
teachers, all who have fitness for the work of instruction 
will find abundant opportunity to engage in it. Obviously 
it will not be necessary or wise for all medical missionaries 
to take a course in pedagogy, but those who have a special 
gift for teaching or who are likely to be designated for this 
work in medical schools should secure this preparation. 


XII. Tuer PREPARATION OF NURSES 


In general it may be said that many of the suggestions 
contained in the first part of this report apply with equal 
force to nurses. A four year high school course should be 
considered a minimum educational preparation. This should 
be followed by a nurses’ training course of at least three 
years. One of the leading medical educators in America, 
herself formerly a missionary, says: “Nurses should be well 
grounded in their profession, should have held executive 
positions at home and should have good general culture, that 
they may prove acceptable members of the social circle of 
the mission.” They should also have reasonable grounding 
in the items mentioned in the first list in section VII. Nurses, 
like medical missionaries, need better training for work 
abroad than for work at home. 

More and more the task of the trained nurse in mission 
fields will be to train native nurses and to act as superin- 
tendents of hospitals. This fact emphasizes the need for 
superior training in her profession, and also in subjects re- 
lated more particularly to the spiritual side of the work. 


20 PREPARATION OF MEDICAL MISSIONARIES 


The work of the nurse is co-ordinate with that of other 
missionaries and forms an essential and permanent part of 
the Christian program. She is responsible not only for the 
training of the native nurses and thus must have good ped- 
agogical preparation, but she must be the executive to carry 
out the plans and orders of the medical missionary in charge, 
or, if she herself be superintendent, of the best, up-to-date 
plans for the conduct of a hospital. Thus she should have 
the training for independent leadership and also for the exe- 
cution of the detailed plans of another. Her close contact 
with the developing young native womanhood gives her rare 
opportunities. As medical missionary work becomes more 
highly specialized, the nurse will be in greater demand and 
her preparation will of necessity need to be with greater 
specialization. 


PUBLICATIONS OF THE BOARD 
The First Annual Report (1911) 


Of historical value, giving full details of the first year of organization. 
Paper, price 25 cents, postpaid. 


The First and Second Annual Reports (1911, 1912) 


A few copies bound in one volume. Valuable for completing sets. 
Paper, price 50 cents, postpaid. 


The Third Annual Report (1913) 


Rich in suggestions concerning the special training which evangelistic, 
educational, medical, and women missionaries should seek. It also con- 
tains a report on the use of the missionary furlough, a list of the institu- 
tions which offer special courses for candidates, and suggestions of valu- 
able courses of reading. 

Paper, price 25 cents, postpaid. 


The Fourth Annual Report (1914) 

Containing reports on preparation for different fields, such as China, 
India, Japan, Latin America, the Near East and Pagan Africa. It also 
includes full reports of the two important Conferences on Preparation of 
Ordained Missionaries and Administrative Problems. 

Paper, price 50 cents, postpaid. 


The Fifth Annual Report (1915) 


Including the reports of the two important Conferences on Prepara- 
tion of Women for Foreign Service and Preparation of Medical Mission- 
aries. 

Paper, price 50 cents, postpaid. 


The Sixth Annual Report (1916) 

Containing, besides the report of the Annual Meeting, the full report 
of the important Conference on Educational Preparation. 

Paper, price 50 cents, postpaid. 


The Seventh Annual Report (1917) 


Containing the minutes and proceedings of the Annual Meeting. 
Paper, price 25 cents, postpaid. 


CONFERENCE REPORTS 


The Report of a Conference on the Preparation of Women for Foreign 
Missionary Service. Paper, 25 cents. 

The Report of a Conference on the Preparation of Medical Missionaries. 
Paper, 25 cents. 

The Report of a Conference on the Preparation of Ordained Missionaries. 
Paper, 25 cents. 


The Presentation of Christianity in Confucian Lands. Paper, 50 cents. 
The Presentation of Christianity to Hindus. Paper, 50 cents. 
The Presentation of Christianity to Moslems. Paper, 50 cents. 


REPRINTS OF SPECIAL REPORTS 


Preparation of Ordained Missionaries (revised). 10 cents. 
Preparation of Medical Missionaries (revised). 10 cents. 
Preparation of Educational Missionaries (revised). 10 cents, 
Preparation of Women for Foreign Service (revised). 10 cents. 
Preparation of Missionaries Appointed to China. 10 cents. 
Preparation of Missionaries Appointed to India. 10 cents. 
Preparation of Missionaries Appointed to Japan. 10 cents. 
Preparation of Missionaries Appointed to Latin America. 10 cents. 
Preparation of Missionaries Appointed to the Near East. 10 cents. 
Preparation of Missionaries Appointed to Pagan Africa. 10 cents. 


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